# Modeling a Transient Secondary Paleo-Lunar Atmosphere: 3-D Simulations and Analysis

## TL;DR

This paper uses 3D simulations to explore the characteristics and viability of a transient secondary paleo-lunar atmosphere, assessing its potential to transport volatiles and support permanent cold trapping at the poles.

## Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive 3D climate model to analyze the existence and behavior of a primordial lunar atmosphere and its role in volatile transport.

## Key findings

- Atmospheres as low as 1 mb are viable on the Moon.
- Permanent cold trapping of volatiles occurs only at the poles.
- The atmosphere could have transported volatiles from maria to shadowed regions.

## Abstract

The lunar history of water deposition, loss, and transport post-accretion has become an important consideration in relation to the possibility of a human outpost on the Moon. Very recent work has shown that a secondary primordial atmosphere of up to 10 mb could have been emplaced ~3.5 billion years ago due to volcanic outgassing from the maria. Using a zero dimensional chemistry model we demonstrate the temperature dependence of the resulting major atmospheric components (CO or CO$_2$). We use a three dimensional general circulation model to test the viability of such an atmosphere and derive its climatological characteristics. Based on these results we then conjecture on its capability to transport volatiles outgassed from the maria to the permanently shadowed regions at the poles. Our preliminary results demonstrate that atmospheres as low as 1 mb are viable and that permanent cold trapping of volatiles is only possible at the poles.